There are some things in life that have an enigmatic beauty much deeper than sole visual pleasure. The arrival of a new born baby into the world, the seasonal color change in foliage, and the slow creep of the sun through the horizon to welcome a new day all exhibit this kind of beauty. However, with the fortune of educated timing, there is an opportunity to place oneself into the most aesthetic and magnificent scenes the calendar year has to offer: hunting wood ducks early season. The distinction of wood duck hunting against hunting of other waterfowl is the unique habitat in which wood ducks prefer. Largely depending on food sources that only freshwater and trees can provide, wood ducks draw hunters into lake and bog ecosystems. Hunting this scenery provides uncontested aesthetics independent and much different from that of hunting the saltwater marsh. For this reason, I find it imperative to make room in my duck hunting schedule to hunt the lakes and bogs for wood ducks every year in late October to early November. Continue reading “Wood Duck Hunting: Beaver Swamp”